Let It Be Me
by NikkiLeCole
Summary: Calleigh had a hard childhood, she finds it hard to let people in. Shes starting to think shes ready, but will it be the right people?
1. We're Gonna Be Okay

**Calleigh Duquesne was sweeping the kitchen floor when she heard the front door slam shut. She gripped the broom tightly and closed her eyes tight, trying to listen to what mood her father was in.**

'**June! June! Where is my dinner and why is the house so damn cold?'**

**Calleigh didn't need to look at - or even smell - her father to know he'd been drinking again. She propped the broom up in the corner and ran to the side of the kitchen table that was furthest away from her. She knelt down and shook the figure that was sleeping there.**

'**Janie, please, wake up', she shook her sister harder, and a small blonde haired girl removed her thumb from her mouth and looked up at Calleigh with her green eyes. 'What is it?', she asked quietly, even though Janie had just turned four, she knew, if Calleigh was waking her up, it was important and maybe not the best time to shout.**

'**It's Daddy, Janie, we have to get the boys and get out, Come on', Calleigh pulled Janie to her feet and brushed off the dirt from her sister's dress. She took Janie's hand and they slowly and quietly walked past the room where their father was now occupying, still shouting for their mother. They passed the room and made their way up the stairs and down the landing until they reached a room, where the door was tightly closed. Calleigh opened it and looked in, two boys, one thirteen years old and another six years; they both looked at Calleigh, their faces terrified. She beckoned to her brothers to follow her and Janie and she pushed them in front of her and put Janie in the middle of the two boys, telling them quietly to 'Go out the front door and run to the shack, make sure Daddy doesn't see you, or hear you, you got it?', They nodded and made their way down the stairs and opened the door slowly, but still, it creaked loudly. Calleigh winced as she heard the loud creaking sound; the two boys grabbed Janie's hand and ran away from the house.**

**When Calleigh couldn't see them anymore, she made her way down to the front door.**

'**June? Is that you?' slurred her father's voice. Calleigh bit her bottom lip and stood still, hoping her father didn't leave his room downstairs. But a few moments later she heard the loud footsteps of his heavy boots on the wooden floor. He stood in the hall, facing Calleigh.**

'**Oh, Cal, its you, where's your Momma?', Calleigh shrugged, she knew exactly where her Mom was, upstairs sleeping off all the alcohol she had drunk that morning when she thought the children were having their breakfast, she didn't remember that she hadn't gone shopping that week and they had no food in the house. Calleigh knew if she told her father, he'd blame her for her mother's drinking, just as he blamed her for his. **

'**Don't shrug your shoulders at me, my girl? I know you know where she is, where is my dinner?'**

'**Daddy, I don't kn-', Calleigh was stopped by a quick slap across the face. She stumbled back, clutching her burning cheek. Her father looked at her, his face red and his eyes bulging, **

'**Don't you dare lie to me', he hissed at her, then turned and walked back into his room.**

**Calleigh turned and ran out of the door, tears rolling down her cheeks and kept running until she couldn't see her dingy little house anymore. It was always cold because her father had broken quite a few windows when he was drunk. They had no money to fix them, any money they had, her father drank. Calleigh couldn't remember when either her or any of her siblings had gotten new clothes, or had a birthday. She could remember her birthday: February 28th**** but she didn't know when that was. It couldn't be soon, she thought, the last time she got presents for her birthday, it was sunny, looking up to the sky, she realised, the clouds had turned a dark shade of grey.**

**She took in a breath and ran towards the shack her and her Daddy had built when she was six. That was awhile ago now, he seemed to have forgotten about all those times, when they had made the shack, when they spent the whole day face-painting and Aiden had walked around them laughing and pulling faces at her while Daddy had painted her face. She was only five then. She sighed, she didn't like this new Daddy, most of the time he shouted at her Momma and hit her, even though she knew she wasn't supposed to know that he did, He hit her too, but only when she was bad and talked back to him or something. She knew she deserved it, it was her fault her Momma drank and because she was the eldest girl she had to keep the house clean and make the dinner and keep Janie, Aiden and Tom clean, but it was hard to convince a six year old boy that he needed to take a bath when all the water they had was ice cold.**

**She reached the shack and opened the door and saw her siblings huddled on the small piece of carpet that covered the floor, she shivered and sat down beside them and hugged Janie close.**

'**We'll be okay guys, Daddy will be fine in the morning', she said softly. Janie and Tom nodded and closed their eyes, and tried to sleep. Only Aiden looked at her, his gaunt face, watching her, not believing one word of what she had just said. He noticed that the right side of the face was bright red and the guilt rose up in him, he knew that as Calleigh's older brother he should protect her from their Daddy but she was like a Mom to them all, even him though he was a year younger. He thought, as the rain started to pour on the roof of the shack and as Calleigh's breathing began to deepen as she fell asleep, her arm clutched around Janie, that she was a much better mother than their actual mother was.**


	2. Calleigh, I'm Hungry

_Hey everyone, thank you SO much for leaving comments and adding this story to your Alerts and Favourites! This Chapter is a bit all over the place as I had no real idea how to follow the First Chapter._

_Enjoy __J_

**------------**

The next morning, Calleigh woke to the warmth of the sunshine, streaking through the window onto her cheek. She smiled as she woke, thinking, finally everything should be better today.

Just as she did every morning.

She opened her eyes and stretched carefully, as to not wake up Janie and Tom, she looked around to see Aiden, but she couldn't see him. Maybe he had went outside? Hopefully if he had gone outside, he had only gone out this morning, Calleigh hoped, as even she knew, if was dangerous to be in the Louisiana fields at night alone.

She stood up and walked to the door, her bare feet making a soft swishing sound on the floor, she reached the door and opened it slowly as she didn't the sun to come fully into the shack; this was the first time in awhile since Janie and Tom had slept properly.

As she stepped outside, she closed the door behind her and walked around calling for her brother.

'Aiden? Aiden! Where are you?' She called softly, and then she heard a grunt and turned.

Aiden was sitting on a rock behind her, half-smiling at her.

'Hey Cal.'

'Good Morning Aiden, What're you doing out here so early?' she asked as she sat down beside him. Aiden turned to Calleigh and looked right at her. He took in her blonde hair, which was tied back in a ponytail, lots of strands hanging down the sides of her face. Her blue eyes were full of sadness and hurt. And the dress she was wearing, it barely fit her, the sleeves were almost up to her elbows and the hem was up to her knees, and the beautiful white it once was, was now a dirty grey.

Aiden looked at Calleigh and realised, how much she did for them, to keep them safe.

'Calleigh I promise he is never going to hurt you again, ok?'

Calleigh looked at Aiden unsure and nodded slowly, and then jumped slightly as she heard her name being called.

'Calleeeeiiiigh, Calleeeeiiiigh!', then she heard a muffled cough and knew that it was Janie; she got up from the rock and made her way to the shed. She opened the door and sat beside Janie and hugged her tight.

'Good Morning Janie, are you alright?' Calleigh asked as Janie wrapped her arms around her.

'Calleigh, I'm hungry'

Calleigh nodded and looked at her sister.

'Okay, let's go home then'.


	3. More Than Great

**Again, thank y'all SO SO much! You don't what it means to me that there are people reading my story! **

**The title of this story is called Let It Be Me**

**I named it after a song by Ray LaMontagne****.**

**It's a beautiful song.**

**Enjoy.**

**Nikki **

**x**

**-----**

When Tom was awake, Calleigh scrubbed at her sister's and her younger brother's face as best she could, hoping that the dirt would magically vanishes from their cheeks.

After ten minutes, there was still dirt but a lot less and red marks appeared where the dirt had disappeared.

The four children walked home, the two boys walking and Calleigh carried Janie, who was still half asleep.

As they approached the house, they saw smoke rising from the chimney, Calleigh and Aiden exchanged looks and made their way towards the door, and as soon as Calleigh entered she let out the breath that she didn't know that she was holding.

She knew from the cooking smells coming from the kitchen that today was a Good Day.

The children entered the kitchen and watched as their mother, finished cooking bacon on the old, dirty stove, the kitchen was filled with nice, warm smells and the children relaxed.

'Why don't y'all sit down and your Daddy'll be down soon', their mother said, smiling as she turned to look at her children.

Calleigh placed Janie down in one of the chairs around the kitchen table and Aiden and Tom followed suit. Calleigh sat down slowly in another chair and watched her Mom as she placed a slice of bacon on each of the four small plates that were resting on the counter and then two slices on a larger plate beside them.

June Duquesne then gave her children each one of the four small plates and went back to the stove. The children smiled at each other and Aiden, Tom and Janie ate their slices quickly. Calleigh broke hers up into three pieces and slid a piece onto each of her sibling's plates. They looked at her and smiled happily and ate their pieces of her slice of bacon.

'Was that breakfast nice honey?' June asked her eldest daughter.

Calleigh looked at her.

'Mmm, yes Momma, it was lovely', she said kissing her mother on the cheek and giving her younger siblings a wink, unseen by June.

Her father strolled in and sat down, 'Good Morning children', he said smiling at his children and took the plate his wife was holding out to him and ate the two slices in two bites and gulps.

Obviously, Calleigh realised, her parents had been so drunk yesterday that they hadn't noticed their children were gone.

Calleigh hadn't noticed that her father had gotten up and had placed his hands on her shoulders.

'Cal', he said loudly, or maybe it was just loudly to her, 'I've got a surprise for you'.

Calleigh looked at her father in amazement, 'A surprise for me, Daddy?', she asked.

'Uh-huh', he smiled and walked out to the garden, beckoning Calleigh to follow, and she did. When they were outside her dad walked to the garden shed and stepped inside, when he came back out, he was holding a brown bag. Calleigh tilted her head to look at it.

Duke tilted the bag so a black, shiny gun slid out on his hand.

'I'm gonna show you how to shoot Cal', he said smiling.

Calleigh nodded eagerly and took the gun from her father; he showed her how to hold it properly and pointed in the direction of the big tree that shaded half the garden,

'Shoot towards it', he instructed his daughter, curling her fingers around the trigger, Calleigh squeezed her fingers hard and watched as a bullet from the gun hit the tree trunk.

'How was that Cal?', Duke asked his eldest daughter.

Calleigh smiled. 'That was great, Daddy, thanks'. He nodded and turned and walked back into his house, Calleigh looked down at the weapon in her hands and smiled to herself.

It was so much better than great,


	4. Reflections

_Heya everyone, _

_Thank you for your comments, _

_And , I do try very hard to write more, and I am sorry I do not write as much as you'd like, I know from reading other fan fictions myself that you want to read a long chapter, but the words look a lot less on fan than they do than on my Word Processor so I am very sorry!_

**---**

**Seventeen Years Later . . .**

**Calleigh Duquesne walked through the doors to Miami-Dade CSI and made her way to the break room. She sighed as she entered the room, noticing nobody was in there. She had woken up that morning, with a feeling of loneliness, which she didn't understand; she had great friends and a great job, why would she be lonely?**

**She made herself a cup of coffee before she started the long day, Horatio had given her a bag of bullets the day before and she had to sort through them to find the bullet that matched the one that had killed Maynard Costas**

**Last week. At first it had looked like a suicide but then they found the supposed gun Maynard had used but there was a bullet still in the chamber, so it meant that there was a second gun out there that had shot him and Calleigh needed to match the bullets so she could match the gun.**

**As she sat down on the couch, sipping her coffee slowly, the door opened and when she looked up, she saw Ryan standing there, he looked out of breath and tired.**

'**Calleigh, thank God, you're here! H told me to get you and I couldn't find you, we got a case!', he smiled at her.**

**She rolled her eyes. He was just so new it was funny that he was still excited by a new case even though he was working on two others as well.**

'**Okay Ryan, lets go'. She said as she finished her coffee and placed the mug on the table and stood up, grabbing her camera as she followed Ryan out the door to his CSI Hummer. She sat down and put on her seatbelt.**

'**Where's the scene?', she asked as Ryan started up the Hummer and drove onto the road.**

'**The address is 345 Mayflower Road, Coral Reef Drive, the victim's daughter called it in', he said, concentrating on driving.**

**Calleigh knew that Ryan was nervous about driving because he crashed once before and he didn't want to again. She looked ahead, out the windscreen and watched the road signs as they drove past. She then, rested her head against the head rest and closed her eyes.**

**About ten minutes must have past when Ryan stopped the car and got out and opened Calleigh's door. She smiled at him as she got out, 'Thank you Ryan'; she took her camera and ducked underneath the Crime Scene tape that was surrounding the white stone house. She walked into the house and saw a middle-aged woman, a few years older than herself lying on her back on the wooden floor, a deep bullet hole was in her chest and she was covered in so much blood that Calleigh knew there was more injuries then just being shot. She knelt down on the floor beside the woman and started taking photos.**

'**Calleigh', Alexx acknowledged her colleague as she knelt on the floor beside the victim and lifted up the victims arm. 'Alexx do we have any ID on this victim?', Calleigh asked softly as she noticed cuts and burns on the victim's arms. 'Victim is Rosalie Dawson,39, her sixteen year old daughter Emma called it in, she was upstairs doing her homework when she heard a gunshot, walked down the stairs and saw her father with the gun in his hand. Poor baby'.**

**Calleigh's eyes widened and she turned to Alexx.**

'**Are you saying the father did this?'. Alexx nodded and Calleigh gasped.**

'**Emma called the police and then called us. Miami PD arrested John Dawson this morning for murder.**

'**My God', Calleigh shook her head as she looked at Rosalie's body, Alexx had turned her over so Calleigh could retrieve the bullet and there were bruises all over her back.**

**Calleigh stood up and looked over to Alexx, 'I need to get some air; I'll be back in a moment'. **

**She stood up and walked to the back garden, breathing deeply, she hated this kind of cases, where husbands killed their wires or children. It made her uncomfortable. **

_---- Fifteen Years Ago ----_

_Calleigh had just come in from the garden when she heard it._

_That loud sound that made her feel faint._

_She knew it was happening again and she was grateful that Janie and Tom were outside, Aiden was at work._

_She edged nearer the living room so she could hear what her parents were saying._

''_When I tell you to do something, you will do it June!'', her father was shouting._

''_I will do what I think is right Duke, I am not going to just stand there and keep the kids quiet because they annoy you sometimes, to pretend like nothing is happening when I know you've been seeing that Joann woman again! You think I'll stay by you again, well you are very wro-', her mothers shouts were stopped by another loud sound. A loud cracking sound. She heard the front door slam and her mother's whimpers. She stood in the doorway, just so she could see her mother but June couldn't see her. Her mother's face was red and bruised and she had a cut on her cheek. Calleigh stepped back and felt a tear roll down her cheek._

_She'd never let her father do that again._

_---- To The Present ----_

**Calleigh felt tears prick at her eyes and she wiped them with the back of her hand. 'Calleigh are you okay?', he heard Eric Delko's voice, and breathed out. He couldn't see her like this. It wasn't like her. She looked at Delko and smiled. 'I'm fine Delko, don't worry about me! Theres just a lot of dust in there, that's all.'**

**He looked at her insure but she smiled again and walked past him, back into the house. She never looked back. She didn't why she felt the way she did about Eric and she knew he felt the same but she couldn't date him. It wasn't allowed in CSI and if Rick Stetler found out they'd be for the chop.**

**She knew that today was going to be a hard day.**


	5. I Want You Here

_**Hey guys, I'm back.**_

_**Just want to thank y'all so much for commenting and everything, it means a lot to me. **_

_**I just wanted to say I'm sorry that I haven't updated in awhile, I've been sick and I didn't feel like writing.**_

_**Get Well Soon Wishes to all those affected by the H1N1 virus (or commonly known as Swine Flu). My thoughts are with you.**_

_**-----**_

_**Calleigh carried on with her business, photographing the body of Rosalie Dawson and sent all evidence to the Crime Lab. Something felt out of place for her, but she couldn't put her finger on it.**_

_**She was on her lunch break in the break room that afternoon, when she felt the door open and heard footsteps enter. She looked up from her sandwich.**_

_**Her stomach did that twisted feeling that was oh-so familiar to her, she breathed out.**_

'_**Eric…hey', she smiled at him and he smiled back. She felt something inside her melt.**_

_**She stood up and walked over to the sink and placed her plate beside it, she turned back to speak to Eric. 'I..woah...', she spun and she felt the world spin faster and she felt dizzy and raised her hand to her head.**_

'_**Cal, are you okay?', Eric stepped forward to steady Calleigh as she fell.**_

_**She shook her head and looked at Eric. 'You know what? I don't, I've been feeling weird all day and I just don't know why-', she stopped and sneezed.**_

'_**Calleigh, I think you're getting a cold, come on, I'll bring you home', Eric said as she held Calleigh's arm as they walked out the door towards the elevator.**_

_**They were strapped into the Hummer and Eric had turned the keys in the ignition when Calleigh realized something, 'Eric? You don't know where I live.', but Eric just smiled and shrugged. Calleigh smiled and closed her eyes. She trusted him.**_

_**---**_

_**When Eric pulled up outside Calleigh's house, she didn't ask him how he knew where she lived. She didn't know that he'd pulled up outside her house a few times the year before and just stayed in his car, wondering whether he should knock on her door and tell her what he felt about her.**_

_**No, she didn't ask, and he didn't tell her. She slid her keys into the door and turned them and the door clicked open. She took a deep breath in as she stepped inside her house. Her Safe Zone. She smiled and then reminded herself of one very important fact. Eric was there, in her house.**_

_**She turned to him and smiled, 'Do you want something to eat? Drink?', he smiled and shook his head.**_

'_**Cal, I think you should get to bed, you don't look well'.**_

_**Calleigh nodded and started to walk to her bedroom and looked back at Eric, saying without words that it was okay, he could follow. She passed a mirror in the hallway and groaned silently.**_

_**Her eyes that had always looked so bright now looked dull and lifeless, her hair hung around her face, giving it no shape and her face was eerily pale. She walked up the stairs quietly and walked into her bedroom. It was her favourite room in her house. She had painted the walls a cream color herself and had hung the curtains too. On the walls were photos of her family; a photo of her and her brother Aiden when she was 21 and he was 22, on a day out with his wife Carolyn and their son Jayden who was three at that time. Another photo was on her dresser of her and Janie, her little sister on Janie's 23rd**__** birthday. She smiled as she saw the photos, there was a vase of yellow tulips on her window sill, and floaty curtains covered the door that led onto the balcony, she walked to her bed and pulled back the cream sheets and took off her shoes and got in.**_

_**She heard footsteps and leant back against the covers. Just as Eric walked in, she sneezed again, followed by two coughs.**_

'_**Miss Duquesne, that doesn't sound very good to me', he chuckled and sat on the edge of her bed.**_

'_**You rest okay? And get well, I don't want to see you in work tomorrow or the next day until I tell you that you can come back', he smiled.**_

'_**But, I', she started to say and stopped when she saw Eric's face, 'Okay, I'll rest but I'll be bored', Eric laughed and looked at her. 'Well, do something to amuse yourself, I'll ask Nat to come over, she'll know what to do', Calleigh felt her heart sink as he said Natalia's name. She knew she shouldn't dislike Natalia Boa Vista just because she was Eric's girlfriend but it was hard. **_

_**Eric must have seen Calleigh's face and mistook it for her just being sick.**_

'_**Well you probably don't want me here now so I'll leave; I'll be back tomorrow, with food and stuff. Let me know if you need anything, if you can't reach me, call Natalia. Okay?'**_

_**She nodded and tried her hardest to give him a small smile.**_

'_**Bye', he smiled again and walked from the room, a few moments later she heard the front door click again and Eric's car start up. She sighed and thought of the conversation they'd just had.**_

'_**You probably don't want me here' was what he had said.**_

_**Oh Eric, she thought, how very very wrong you were.**_

_**I want you here so much.**_


	6. Dizzy Spells

Hello guys!

Hope y'all are well?

I am officially better and I have to apologize so much! I was better awhile ago but Mari is now sick so I have to help out.

I realise I made a mistake in a previous chapter by saying Calleigh's eyes are blue and I know they are green, so from now on I will refer to them as green.

Lots of Natalia in this chapter. Let me know what you think.

Hope this is long enough.

Take Care.

**--------------------------------------------------------**

When Calleigh woke, she was alone.

The sun was streaming through the glass door that, when opened, allowed her to walk out on her balcony and survey her garden.

She turned to look at the alarm clock on her bedside table.

9:04

Damn it, she thought, she was late for work, and she was never late for work. She was nearly always early. She sat up in bed and leant against the headboard of the bed and sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair.

As she turned to get out of bed, the screen of her cell phone lit up, telling her she had a new message from Natalia, she groaned as she opened the text message.

Calleigh, hey.

Eric said that you were feeling sick.

Give me a call when you're feeling better. Nat x

She exited out of the message and left the phone on her table, face down. Of course Eric would've told Natalia that she was sick. He probably told her all sorts of things that Calleigh would rather he didn't. She knew that it wasn't Natalia's fault that she had Eric Delko as her boyfriend but she couldn't help but resent the new DNA analyst slightly.

By 9:45, Calleigh had showered, got dressed and was pulling up outside Miami Dade Crime Lab, she opened her door and got out, bringing her kit with her and locking the car as she made her way to the lobby..

As the lift pinged open on her floor, Calleigh made a to-do list in her brain. She had to go see Natalia about the case of Dana Summers, who had been raped and then shot in the head and left in a dumpster outside a local nightclub. Natalia had gotten some skin cells off the bullet that didn't match Dana and Calleigh had to collect the bullet after Natalia was done processing it.

She opened the door to the DNA lab when she noticed, Natalia wasn't in there. Where could she be? Calleigh wondered and was about to call out when she heard a muffled giggle, it seemed to be coming from the backroom. Calleigh edged closer to hear clearer.

'_Eric, stop it! We're at work!', _she heard Natalia say and swallowed as she felt something in her chest sink.

'_Okay, okay Nat. Later then…'_ which was followed by another giggle and Calleigh heard the door open and watched as Natalia and Eric emerged, a smirk on both of their faces. She cleared her throat and they looked up.

'_Oh hey Cal, how are you feeling?'_, Calleigh tried to smile at Natalia and hoped she didn't look as pale as she had that morning.

'_I'm good, thanks, you know me, can't keep me away',_ she threw in a half hearted laugh for good measure.

Satisfied, Eric smiled and left with a 'Bye' to Calleigh and a quick smile and wink to Natalia.

*******

The day passed quickly and Calleigh caught up on the Dana Summers case. The skin cells were a match to one Laurel Hank and when Frank and Horatio had drove over to his last known address; they found the place ransacked and empty. Laurel Hank looked like he had vanished into thin air. And the gun, from which the bullet that killed Ms Summers came from, was registered to a Bella Cazenovia, which didn't match anything on CODIS.

It was a long day and by the time Calleigh pulled up outside her house it was a quarter to midnight. Inside the house, she turned on the lights and sat on her sofa and replayed the conversation she had heard between Eric and Natalia that morning. She couldn't understand why it affected her so much.

By half past one, she had drunk two large glasses of red wine and was starting to get a little bit dizzy, she sighed. Time for bed. She changed into her pyjamas and climbed into her bed and shivered. Was it always this cold?

Because of the wine and how hard she had worked that day, she fell asleep pretty quickly.

*******

At the same time, but a few blocks away, Eric Delko was just pulling up outside Natalia Boa Vista's house.

'_Thanks Eric, for dinner, it was fun'_ Natalia gave Eric a wide smile.

Eric just laughed and shook his head at her.

They got out and Natalia unlocked her front door and in the next ten minutes they had opened a bottle of red wine and were chatting and laughing quite loudly on Natalia's sofa.

'_I win, I win, I win!'_ Natalia chanted, throwing her arms in the air.

'_No you don't! You didn't get it!! Not fair!'_ Eric said and hiccupped. Natalia laughed and tilted her head to look at him. He was so adorable, even more so, when drunk.

'_Ok, we've have a rematch…in the morning, so I'll still be the winner for the rest of the evening' _she said, looking at her watch _'oops, sorry, it IS the morning, yay, I win again!'_

'_Hey Nat?'_

'_Yeah?'_

'_Shut up.'_

She giggled as Eric's lips pressed against hers and she smiled as the kiss deepened. She moved her hands to his head and ran her hands over his hand, skimming his barely there hair. They sat up and Natalia could feel his fingers lifting up the bottom of her shirt. She placed her two hands on his chest and smiled, pushing him down backwards onto the sofa.

*******

The alarm rang at seven thirty. Calleigh Duquesne groaned and pressed the off button. Why did she drink wine on a work night? Her head was pounding. She got up to get some aspirin and a glass of water. She swallowed the aspirin with the water and closed her eyes, holding the glass to her forehead. Maybe a shower would help.

By eight o' clock, she had had her shower and had gotten dressed, getting dressed was easy for Calleigh. Black boots, black trousers, blouse and a black jacket. One thing that made her life simple.

*******

At seven thirty, an alarm rang in Natalia's house too. She groaned and reached for her phone, but her hand reached into air. Where was her bedside table? And her phone? That's when she felt something stir beside her and almost knocked her over. Eric. They had spent the night on the couch. She groaned and poked his chest.

'_Eric', _she hissed and he opened his eyes sleepily.

'_Wha..Nat? Where am I?'_

She sighed and rolled her eyes.

'_You're on my couch, you idiot! Get up or we're gonna be late for work'._

The next half hour passed with Eric getting dressed in the clothes that had spent the night on the floor and thanked his great ability to think had got him to leave a clean shirt in his locker at work. Natalia dashed around her bedroom, having the fastest shower in history and getting dressed. She was just fastening the top button on her silk blouse when Eric appeared at the door.

'_You know, I always preferred that blouse on the floor'_

She smiled as she looked into the mirror over her dresser and fastened her earrings.

'_You've seen enough of my clothes on the floor already today Mr Delko'._

Eric made a face like a five year old child that had just been told he wasn't allowed any chocolate.

Natalia laughed and poked his arm.

'_Come on, we're gonna be late'_

They left Natalia's house, she got into her car and he got into his and with a wink, Eric pulled out of Natalia's driveway and turned onto the road. Natalia waited five minutes in her car, fixing her hair and touching up her lip-gloss before following.

*******

The day passed in a blur for Calleigh, she barely listened as Ryan and Maxine excitably discussed what to get Alexx for her birthday and as she shot another round of another gun found at Dana Summers' crime scene.

She glanced up and saw Natalia and Eric walking towards the lifts, going for their lunch break, she guessed. As the doors shut, she saw Eric whisper something into Natalia's ear and she saw Natalia elbow him in the stomach. She knew they were keeping their relationship on the down low and as far as she knew, she was the only one in the lab that knew about Eric and Natalia.

*******

At half past three, Natalia and Eric were getting back into Eric's hummer after having an enjoyable lunch at a nice little restaurant in the centre of Miami. Eric opened his door and got in, swinging the door shut behind him. Natalia reached for the handle and swung open the door and jumped in.

'_Whoa…'_

She clutched her head as everything in her view started to spin.

'_Natalia, are you okay?'_

Eric was looking at her, a look of confusion and concern on his face.

'_Yeah…I'm okay'_

She gave him a faint smile.

'_Just got in too quickly'_

Eric nodded as he turned on the road back to Miami Dade Crime Lab.

Looking at Natalia, he could see she wasn't fine. In fact she was trying not to look at him at all, her head turned completely towards the window.

Sometimes, Eric thought, it was hard to understand women.


	7. I Love You

**A/N: **Again, sorry about not posting in forever! J I hope you guys are well and I hope the weather is good where you live and you are enjoying it. Oh and, P.S. I used fake names in this chapter (for the football guy), just to let y'all know and they are not describing any person living or dead, I made them up.

No criticism on the storyline, I know what I'm doing!

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

The next Saturday, the workers in Miami Dade Crime Lab had the day off.

Calleigh woke at eight o' clock, without the aid of her alarm clock and wondered to herself why she felt different today. She closed her eyes while she thought, fine lines appearing on her forehead. Then she got it, she hadn't had a day off in the past two months, and it felt good not to be working, especially on such a hot day as it was in Miami that day. She smiled to herself, and sat up, swinging her legs over the side of her bed. Today she was going to lounge around and do absolutely nothing.

No, Natalia thought to herself. No, no, no, no. She didn't know whether thinking could control the power of the little plastic stick she held between her fingers but she highly doubted it. She put the toilet lid down and placed the stick on it and sat on the edge of the bath. She checked her watch, three more minutes to go. As she waited she kept thinking the word 'no' over and over. She was on her fifty-forth time when the front door slamming interrupted her thoughts.

'Nat? You in..?'

Eric. She closed her eyes and called out back to him.

'Yeah, Eric, I'm in the bathroom, I'll be down in a minute'.

She heard her voice and was alarmed at how shaky it sounded, but Eric didn't seem to notice. After a moment she heard the distant hum of the television and Eric started clapping, cheering on whatever team was playing that he favoured over the other.

The trilling of bells coming from her mobile brought her back to the present as it signalled the seven minutes were over.

She stood up and walked the few steps required to reach the toilet and picked up the stick. The was a very clear blue line. 'No', Natalia moaned quietly as she sank down onto the toilet seat. She leant back and dropped her head into her hands. The test must be wrong, that's all, wrong. She picked up the box. The test is 99.9% right in both situations. She dropped both box and test to the floor and wiped the tears that were rolling down her cheeks away with her shaking left hand.

'Nat, are you okay? You've been up there awhile.'

At Eric's voice, she looked up. How could she tell him? They'd had a plan, it wasn't real, her and Eric, it was a fling, no strings, like what they had agreed. This wasn't part of the plan.

'Yeah Eric, I'm alright, coming down'

She took a deep breath and unlocked the door, checking her hair and make-up before leaving the bathroom. She had taken two steps out of the bathroom when she turned back, picked up the pregnancy box and test from the trash and hid them in her bedside locker. She made her way downstairs and into her living room. 'Eric, hey', He looked up and smiled as she walked in. 'Hey Nat'. He stood up and pulled her close, pressing his lips against hers. She breathed him in, wondering how to tell him. He didn't seem to notice, he was already back to watching the sports.

'How's your Saturday going Nat?', she opened her mouth but already he was moving on. 'You see this, he isn't going to score. Fowler never scores, always gets close but man, never does! That team had better get another person in his place quick or he is going to lose them the league'.He said all this very fast and Natalia and to rewind what he had said a few times in her head to actually understand what he had said. He had asked her how her Saturday was going, but it sounded like he didn't want to know anyway.

'So, what are you doing today?', Natalia asked as she sat down on the couch opposite to Eric. 'I came over to see you and maybe see if you want to go out to lunch?', he smiled. 'Come over here', he held out his arm and she stood up and made her way over to him. Lying beside him on her side, on the couch. He fastened his arms round her middle and she winced slightly. 'Lunch then', she undid his arms and got up and switched off the TV. Eric, sat up and pulled on his jacket, watching her as he did.

They had a very nice lunch and Eric drove Natalia back to her place.

'You coming in?', she asked, smiling. He shook his head 'No, sorry Nat, my sister Adana is bringing my niece over to house this evening, while her husband is on hospital, but I can talk for a few minutes'_._

He stopped and looked out the windscreen. Natalia, looked at him and thought he looked like he didn't want to talk very much. Maybe she should leave. She couldn't just leave, and not say anything. It was now or never. She took a breath.

'Eric, I'm pregnant…',

It came out more quietly than she had originally thought but she prayed that he ha heard her and she didn't have to repeat herself, but one look at his face told her that he had indeed heard every word she had said. His face was pale, but he didn't speak and continued to stare out the windscreen. It didn't seem like he was going to speak soon so she thanked him for lunch, kissed him on the cheek and got out of the Jeep. As she turned her key in the lock of her front door she heard the rev of the engine and turned to see Eric pull out of her driveway. He seemed to be looking out of the windscreen but not really seeing.

----

It was eight o' clock in the evening when Calleigh's phone rang. The caller ID showed it was Eric. She pressed the answer button and held the phone to her ear.

'Hey Eric'

'Hey Cal, listen, are you home?'

'Yeah, why?'

'Can I come round? Now?'

'Sure'.

He had hung up before she had said goodbye. Her brain kicked in and started to whir. Eric was coming here. Now. He had sounded kind of distant on the phone.

She looked around and picked up her dirty plate left over from her dinner and threw it in the sink. She made her way to her bedroom and changed from her white t-shirt and black tracksuit bottoms into black trousers and a crimson red blouse. She checked her reflection and was making her way down the stairs when her doorbell rang. She hurried down and opened it.

'Eric, hi', she smiled as she opened the door and her eyes widened as she saw him. His shirt looked dirty and he smelled faintly of some sort of alcohol. In her mind, she shrugged. He can spend his day off whatever way he liked. 'Cal, hey', he smiled. 'Can I come in?', she opened the door wider to let him walk in and he made his way to her living room, sitting down on the couch. She followed and sat on the opposite end of the couch. She sat there, trying to think of something to say. 'So how're you and Nat doing?' By the look on his face, it was the wrong thing to say. 'We're okay Cal…actually, No, I don't know how we're doing now…I don't think I'll be seeing her anymore'. He turned to face her. 'Oh', she said quietly, looking at his face, she gave him a faint smile. He looked at her in the eyes, and leant forward, brushing her cheek with his hand. 'Eric, I don't think that..', she was stopped by the fact that he was coming closer to her. 'Ssh', he said quietly, smiling slightly, taking her face in his hands and pressing his lips to hers, it was a moment before she pulled away. 'I think you should leave now Eric', Eric pulled back for a moment, seemed to think for a second and then leant forward again, started to kiss Calleigh again, 'I know you want this Cal', he smiled and pressed his lips against hers again, harder, his tongue finding its way around her mouth, she started to protest again, but sensing it was a battle she was going to lose, relaxed and kissed him back, running her fingers over the buzz cut that was his hair. She smiled into the kiss, deepening it and pulled herself closer to him. Eric, sensing the way Calleigh pressed against him, began to slowly take it further, he kissed her neck and reached for her hand, slowly he stood, bringing her to her feet, and with the day he had brought her home sick in his memory, led her to her bedroom, when they were inside, they stopped kissing for as long as it took to close the door.

**Four hours later.**

At 1am, Calleigh woke with a start, she opened her eyes slowly and looked around, sensing that something wasn't right. Then something moved in the bed beside her. She looked over to her right, turning her head slowly. Eric. A wave of panic swept over her. What had she done? Natalia was her friend and she had betrayed her. She had to get him out. 'Eric', she hissed, nudging his arm quite hard. 'Nat?' he answered with a start. 'What's wrong?'. Calleigh felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. 'Eh, Eric, no, its Calleigh, I really need you to leave…Now'. Eric opened his eyes and looked at Calleigh, horror dawning on his face. 'Calleigh? What am I..?…Oh God' he whispered, burrowing his head in his hands. 'Please Eric, Go'. she pleaded one last time. He got up, and picked his clothes from the floor and various other places that they had fallen a few hours previous, he walked into Calleigh's bathroom, dressed, splashed cold water in his face and made his way back to his Jeep. He Didn't give Calleigh a second look. As she heard his Jeep leave her drive way she leant back against her pillows and sighed, she felt tears prick at her eyes, but before she could get really emotional her phone started to erupt in a cascade of trilling bells. She leant over to her nightstand and picked it up. 'Hello?',

'Um...Calleigh? I'm really sorry to wake you, its just I needed to ask you a question…'

It was Nat. Calleigh felt that sinking feeling in her stomach again.

'Umm, Nat? Its okay, what was it you wanted to ask me?'

'Well…', she heard Natalia take a sharp intake of breath. 'it's a really stupid question, I know, but have you seen Eric this evening? We had lunch, and then he left and he has been gone since then, he isn't answering his cell and Ryan and Alexx don't know where he is…I am really sorry to bother you…'

Calleigh sat up, sudden wide awake.

'Uh, No Nat, sorry, I haven't seen him, how come he just left like that without calling you?'

Natalia paused a moment before replying. 'Well, at lunch today, I told him I was pregnant and he went very quiet and distant and he didn't speak to me at all and I'm scared he's avoiding me and I really need to speak to him..'

She said this all in such a rush, Calleigh wasn't sure she had heard right. Natalia had definitely said the word 'Pregnant'. She was pregnant. With Eric's baby. Oh God.

'Well, that's great news Nat, I'm happy for you and I'm sure Eric will be too, maybe he needs a while to get used to the idea?'

'Yeah, you're probably right Cal! I'm so sorry for waking you! Tell you what, you're working the morning shift aren't you? How about I'll do your shift instead and you can do mine this evening? You can catch up on your sleep', Natalia sounded much happier and all Calleigh could manage was a 'Okay, Nat, thanks' before hanging up. She closed her eyes and when she opened them, stared into space, was that real? She groaned and lay back on her cushions and quite quickly fell into a deep sleep.

Across town, Eric Delko pulled up outside Natalia's house. He still referred to it as Natalia's house, even though he didn't seem to live in his own house anymore. When he pulled up, he turned off the ignition and breathed deeply. What had he done? And worst of all, it was with Calleigh. Calleigh, his best friend, the woman he could talk to anything about and he had ruined it because of too many beers at the local pub. Natalia's news hadn't helped much either. He got out and locked the Jeep, as he pulled on the handle of the front door, he found that it was open. He walked in and saw the living room light still on, he walked in and stood in the doorway. Natalia was curled in a ball on the couch, hugging one of her red pillows to her stomach, she was watching a documentary on the television but it didn't really look like she was focused on it. He walked over to her and stood beside where she lay. She looked up, surprised. 'Eric…', she said quietly, looking up at him, her face was pale and her hair was pulled back from her face with the clip he had bought her two Saturdays ago, at the market in downtown Miami. He looked at her and wondered, how could he have hurt her like this? Didn't he have a shred of dignity or morals? 'I'm sorry…', he began but he didn't get to finish as the tears began to roll down Natalia's cheeks. 'No, Nat, don't cry, please', he said softly, kneeling down and hugging her tightly. She let go of the cushion and wrapped her arms around his neck, sobbing into his shoulder.

'Nat, please don't cry, we're going to do this, you and me, I promise', he said, stroking her hair lightly. She pulled back and looked at him, tear tracks on her face, 'You mean it?', she asked, quietly.

'Yes, I mean it Nat, its you and me now, always'. He smiled and hugged her again. 'I love you Eric Delko', she said quietly, it wasn't intentioned for him to hear it, but he did.

'I love you too Nat', he said quietly, maybe he didn't even say it out loud, but sure enough, he felt it being said in his heart.


	8. Meeting The Family

**A/N: **Can you guys please comment whether you like the story so far and if there's anything I can do to make it better? And also, would you like more Calleigh in the story? Or more of anyone else? I'll try my hardest to oblige.

Oh, and excuse my Spanish!

Take Care guys.

---

The next day was Sunday, and because of Natalia ringing Calleigh so early, she had to do the early shift. The shift began at 6am but Natalia found herself woken at 4:30 and had to run to the bathroom. I've gotta get used to this, she thought to herself as she leant over the toilet. Afterwards she hopped in the shower and dressed quietly. Looking over at Eric, who was asleep in her bed, she wondered how she could blow dry her hair without waking him, she then decided to get her hairdryer, and take it downstairs but as she crossed her bedroom, he sneezed and woke up. 'Good morning', he said sleepily, rubbing his eyes and stretching. 'Hey', Natalia smiled, 'I'm just going to get the hairdryer and go downstairs, okay?' she asked as she bent over to open the drawer of her dressing table. 'No, no, blow dry your hair in here, I don't mind', he mumbled, still sleepy. She smiled at him again and picked up her hair-dryer and plugged it in. She sat down on the end of the bed so she was looking directly in the mirror in front of her, she smiled to herself and she blow-dried her hair, not noticing Eric until he was right behind her. She felt his arms close around her waist and felt his lips press against her right temple, then on her neck. She laughed. 'Eric stop..', she smiled, pushing him away. He laughed, knowing she wasn't really angry with him. 'Okay, okay, how come you're doing the early shift today?' she turned off the hairdryer and put it down. 'Oh, I switched with Calleigh, it's a long story', she smiled, not noticing how pale he'd become. 'After my shifts over at four, we're going to the doctor's okay? Just to check everything is fine.' Eric nodded and she smiled, kissing his lips gently. 'See you at four then!', she stood up, running her fingers through her hair and looked in the mirror to check her make-up and with a glance back at Eric, walked out the door and downstairs, calling 'Bye' as she left.

---

The day passed quickly for Natalia and she only stopped a few times, once to get a sandwich at lunchtime and the others to go to the bathroom. When she explained to her colleagues that she had swapped shifts for the day with Calleigh, they were happy and she found that she liked working in the morning a lot more than working in the evenings. It was quieter. At four o' clock, the lift doors opened and Calleigh walked through them. She wore black trousers and a green shirt which complemented her green eyes. 'Hey Nat!' she smiled as she walked through the DNA lab doors. 'You're free to go now, thanks for doing my shift', Natalia looked up and smiled at Calleigh. 'No problem, I liked it.' Just then the lift opened again and the two women looked up to see Eric walk through the doors and into the Crime Lab. He saw Natalia and made his way over to her. 'You ready to go?' he asked, smiling. 'Yeah, lets go, thanks again Cal', Natalia smiled and walked out of the door pulling Eric with her. Calleigh had noticed that Eric hadn't looked at her once.

Natalia and Eric arrived at Grace Memorial Hospital just after half past four that afternoon and Natalia walked up to reception.

'I have an appointment with Dr. Woods', she smiled at the blonde receptionist (who didn't look old enough to have graduated High School) who just stared at her like she had suddenly grown three heads. 'Name?' the receptionist asked, pausing for a moment to snap her gum. 'Natalia Boa Vista', Natalia answered, unfazed. The receptionist, who wore a badge that said 'Kellie' picked up the phone on her desk and dialled a number. 'Doctor Woods? I have Natalia Boa Vista to see you, she says she has an appointment', she said, staring at Natalia, emphasising the word 'says'. After listening to Alexx's response, all Natalia could hear was a faint buzz, Kellie put the phone down. 'You can go up. Second Floor, Forth door on the left'. Natalia thanked her and turned to Eric and smiled. He smiled back and leant forward, taking her hand as they walked. Natalia glanced down at their hands, and then looked back up, wondering if anyone they knew would be here, apart from Alexx, of course. Nobody knew about them, as far as she knew, apart from Calleigh and Alexx, Ryan still thought he had a chance with her. They reached a door that had a plaque that said 'Doctor Alexx Woods' and Natalia knocked twice lightly on the wood.

'Nat, honey? Come on in'. Alexx's voice rang out from somewhere in the room. Natalia pushed open the door and stood in the doorway, beckoning Eric in behind her. 'Nat', Alexx stood up from her desk and stepped towards Natalia, her arms outstretched for a hug. Natalia smiled and returned the hug, breathing in Alexx's comforting scent. She relaxed. 'What can I do for you honey?', Alexx asked, looking from Natalia to Eric. Natalia looked at Alexx, brushing a piece of her hair behind her ear. 'Well, yesterday, I did a home pregnancy test and it was positive, I was just well…um…wondering whether you could verify that?' she finished, looking at the doctor. Alexx looked again from Natalia to Eric and took a breath. 'Well congratulations are in order, first of all. And secondly, yes, I can verify it, I assume you want if done today then?…Eric, I assume you are the father?'. Eric nodded, a smile stretching across his face. 'Sure, thanks Alexx' Natalia smiled. 'Okay honey, this might just sting for a second', Alexx said, taking a small syringe from he desk drawer. Natalia sat down on the bed that was placed in the corner of her office and rolled up her sleeve. Alexx stuck the needle into Natalia's arm and Natalia winced a little. When the syringe was full, Alexx took it out and left the room with a quick 'I'll be back in about ten minutes'. Natalia looked around Alexx's room, looking at all the posters that graced the walls, over her desk, Alexx had a collection of photos, one of her children and husband and another of all the CSI team, taken last Spring, a mere three months ago. A lot had changed, Natalia thought. In the photo, Horatio stood in the middle, of course, Calleigh to his right and Eric beside her. Natalia stood to his left with Ryan beside her. All of them were smiling, apart from Horatio, who had a slight amused expression on his face. Natalia remembered that day, the day Alexx left. It was a windy day and the sun was shining so brightly, Natalia had envied Horatio with his sunglasses. Just as the flash had gone off, Ryan had told her a joke and she laughed very loudly. The camera caught her wide smile and eyes, glinting with laughter. Ryan had remained calm and smiled modestly, his eyes looking at her with slight amusement. The door opening brought Natalia back to the present. Alexx walked in with a small smile on her face, holding a bunch of A4 papers. ''Good news' she said when she had closed the door. Natalia stood up from the bed and stood close to Eric. 'You're pregnant, about a month gone', Alexx said before hugging her very tightly. Natalia smiled to herself and hugged Alexx back. When the two women were done embracing Alexx went back to her desk to fill out forms and write out recommendations for Natalia, Eric placed his hand on the small of Natalia's back. Natalia looked up at him and smiled, her face lighting up. She looked into his brown eyes and placed her palm on his cheek. 'You're going to be a daddy', she smiled. He smiled back, wrapping his fingers around her waist and leant forward to kiss her gently on the lips before Alexx stood back up.

---

As they drove home, Eric's mobile rang.

'Hola Mamá, Cómo está usted?'

Natalia smiled as she concentrated on the road, hands tightly gripping the steering wheel.

Eric smiled at whatever his mother had said and looked at Natalia before saying, 'Mamá, recuerde que le dije sobre Natalia? ¡Averiguamos hoy que ella es un mes embarazado!'

Natalia almost stopped the car. She hadn't thought that he would've told his mother so suddenly.

'No, Mamá no pienso que - ... bien entonces. Hasta luego'

Eric snapped his phone shut.

'We're going to see my mother.'

Natalia pulled into her driveway and turned to look at Eric.

'What? Eric! Did you have to tell her so soon? I mean, I've never met her before and now our first introduction is when I'm pregnant'

Eric looked at her and said quietly, 'I'm sorry, but she is very important to me, I couldn't keep it from her. I can call her back and cancel?'

Natalia rubbed her face with her hands. 'No, no, we'll go. Can you drive? I'm tired..'

Eric nodded and got out of Natalia's car, unlocking his and getting in.

Ten minutes later they pulled into Eric's mother's house where three cars were parked already in the driveway.

'Adana and Alvardo are here too…' he said, more to himself than to Natalia but she heard anyway.

'Your brother and sister?'

Eric nodded and sighed; he opened the door and walked round the other side of the car, and opened it for Natalia. She smiled at him gratefully. 'Thanks'.

As soon as they had locked the car, the front door had opened and Eric's mother had run out and locked Eric in a huge bear hug.

¡'Bienvenido a casa, mi querido! Y este debe ser Natalia ...'

She said as she released Eric and noticed Natalia. She then switched to English although she knew Natalia spoke perfect Spanish.

'Welcome to my home Natalia, It's great to meet you finally.'

And then she hugged Natalia too, though not as hard as she had Eric.

'It's nice to meet you too Mrs Delko', Natalia smiled.

'Oh please, call me Susana'

'Umm…okay then, Susana'

Natalia smiled and Susana Delko took her hand and led her into the house where screams of laughter could be heard.

In the kitchen there was already two women and two men seated at the table. The dark-haired women, who looked a bit like Eric, held a small baby on her hip. They all stood up as Natalia and Eric walked into the room. The dark haired women with the baby stepped forward, a warm smile on her face. 'Nice to meet you, I'm Adana, Eric's sister, and this' she gestured to the small baby, 'is Adelaida'. Adelaida laughed and grabbed for Natalia's hair, only to be pulled away in the nick of time by Adana. The man, who was also dark-haired, stepped forward. He was Adelaida's father, as she had gotten his eyes, which were the most amazing green Natalia had ever seen on a human. 'I'm Sebastian', he smiled, shaking her head. The other man stood up then, he looked exactly like Eric, if a few years older. 'Alvardo', he said as she shook Natalia's hand and gestured to the blonde woman sat at the table, 'and my wife Cristina'. Cristina smiled at Natalia warmly. 'Hi', she said. Natalia returned the warm smile. Just then two little screaming girls ran into the kitchen. Both crying as hard as they could. The smallest one, with black hair and dark skin ran to Adana and spoke very fast '¡Mamá, Marsiana me empujó y me caí y mis daños principales y ella se rió de mí así la empujé y luego ella se cayó y tiró mi pelo!' Adana laughed at her daughter and said in English 'Well Deisy, Marsiana wasn't right to push you and pull your hair but you shouldn't have pushed her back!' Adana then kissed her daughter's forehead and rubbed it gently. The other little girl, with fair hair ran to Cristina and said in English, 'Deisy pushed me so I pulled her hair' Cristina shared a look. They were obviously used to the two girls fighting. The two little girls looked at each other and started laughing and gave each other a big hug. They were best friends. Adana's mobile rang and she answered it. After her conversation she looked at her husband. 'Alana's tyre is flat; I'm going to pick her up'. Sebastian nodded, and looked at Natalia, 'My sister' he said and then to his wife 'I'll come with you. Susana, is it okay if we leave Deisy and Adelaida here? Just so we don't confuse them by bringing them back and forth?'

Susana nodded and shooed Adana and Sebastian off, glad to spend more time with her grandchildren. About five minutes after, Cristina and Alvardo left also with Marsiana, crying that she was hungry, and tired and wanted to be a princess.

As Susana busied herself in the kitchen making dinner for herself, Eric and Natalia, Deisy watched television in the living room, with Adelaida asleep in her carry cot on the floor. Natalia offered to help Susana but her offer was shot down and she was told to relax and sit down. Deisy wandered in and up to Natalia, not at all shy of the woman she had just met. 'Naataaliaa', the child smiled, making Natalia's name sound even longer than it already was. Natalia turned to look at the little girl.

'Yes Deisy', she said softly, smiling. 'Can you make my hair like yours?' Deisy asked, stroking Natalia's poker straight hair and then pointed at her own, beautiful dark ringlets. Natalia sighed and looked at Susana, 'Oh, I don't know whether you Mom would want that…'. Susana stopped working and came to stand beside Natalia. 'Adana won't mind', she said quietly. Natalia smiled and nodded at Deisy, who laughed and grabbed her hand, pulling her upstairs. Natalia laughed as she was pulled by the little girl, who was suprising strong and glanced back at a laughing Eric.

While Natalia was upstairs, Susana sat down at the table opposite Eric and sighed happily, taken in his face.

'Are you okay _mi querido_?' she asked, taking his hand.

He smiled at her. '_Si mama,_ I'm really very happy'

Susana looked at the ceiling and paused for a moment, listening to the sounds of laughing. 'All I want is for you to be happy, and with Natalia I hope you will be'.

Eric nodded and at the same time the smoke alarm started ringing as smoke started to seep from Susana's pot on the stove. She jumped up, hitting the smoke alarm with a kitchen rag and Adelaida started to cry. Seeing his mother was busy, Eric got up from the table and went to see his niece. 'Ssh, _Adelaida_', He whispered, rocking her gently from side to side. Slowly her tiny eyelids began to close and she began to breathe deeply. He smiled, watching Adelaida sleep. He heard clattering on the stairs and then Deisy saying 'Look at my hair, _abeulita_' and Susana cooing. Deisy skipped into the room, twirling for Eric to see her hair which was now the same as Natalia's. He smiled and she skipped out to show her grandmother again. Eric rocked Adelaida and smiled. He heard a small noise behind him and turned, seeing Natalia on the doorway, smiling. She crossed the room and he put Adelaida back into her carry cot. Natalia wrapped her arms around his waist and smiled up at him.

'What?' he asked, pushing a strand of hair from her face.

'Nothing, Eric' she laughed again and stood on her tip-toes, kissing him lightly on the mouth.

**Soul meets soul on lover's lips. ~ by Percy Bysshe Shelly ~**


	9. An Unwelcome Entrance

**Again, I apologise for not updating. I hope everyone had a brilliant Christmas and an amazing 2010.**

**Some very brilliant person reminded me that I was neglecting Calleigh, so here's an update all about her; please write a comment about what you think of the storyline and if I should change it.**

**Thank You For Reading.**

**----------- Chapter Nine -------**

**Four months had passed, and it had been a tough four months for Calleigh. Seeing them at work, together, happy and smiling like nothing was wrong. It made her stomach feel sick. She and Eric hadn't exchanged many words about that night. After a few weeks, Eric had gotten back to his usual upbeat happy self, overwhelmed about Natalia's baby and it caused an actual physical pain in Calleigh, he should be with her, but she couldn't tell him.**

**It was December and although there was no snow in Miami, Calleigh decorated her house, as usual, Aiden, Carolyn and Jayden were coming to visit her from Louisiana. Jayden, who was now twenty years old and still hadn't moved out of his parent's house. It was free TV, free food and he got his clothes for free, he said, why move out? His outgoing and loud personality made Calleigh smile. He was everything she'd wanted to have been when she was a teenager, but her Dad and Mom hadn't allowed loudness in their house, and she had always resented them for that. As she stood on her tip-toes to place the star on the top of her tree, she lost her balance for a moment, stumbled and stood up again. She shook her head and checked herself for scratches, none, she breathed out and surveyed her living room. The tree was in the corner and on each wall, sprigs of holly hung from the corner of each photo frame. She smiled to herself and sat down on the couch and pressed the 'On' button on her television remote. She flicked through the channels, catching little snippets of each channel, one advertisement caught her eye. A small, dark haired baby smiled toothlessly into the camera while wearing the 'baby suit you HAVE to have', which, to Calleigh, looked just the same as any other baby suit she had seen in shops. She checked which channel the ad was on. Channel 109. BabyWorld. It was a channel on her television that she had never watched, she had no reason to ever watch it but now she felt drawn to watch the programme starting, named 'Startling Baby Stories'. Calleigh watched with interest. One story showed a woman in her early thirties, who was telling the story of how she didn't know she was pregnant until she was on her bathroom floor actually giving birth. The woman didn't understand how this could have happened as she was on birth control pills. The CSI part of Calleigh began to think that of course birth control pills aren't 100% sure to prevent pregnancy but the woman in Calleigh began to ignore her CSI side and believe the woman. 'What a silly thing though', she thought, 'She must have missed a day or two, or been sick and it mustn't have worked or something, otherwise she must have known!'. She shook her head, she didn't quite believe the story, but it interested her. **

**As the programme ended there was a slight knock on her front door, she looked around the knock was so quiet, she wondered if she had imagined it. She checked her watch, it was half eight, Aiden wasn't due until late morning. She got up off her sofa and opened the door. There on her doorstep was a very dishevelled looking Eric.**

'**Eric, what are you-', she stopped as he looked up at her, there were heavy bags under his eyes and he didn't look like he had slept in days. 'Me and Natalia are finished', he said quietly. Calleigh looked at him, tilting her head to the right slightly. She stood back and held the door open for him to come in. He stepped inside and looked around. 'Very festive', he said in a voice that was somewhat more cheerful than before. 'Not really', Calleigh said, not looking at Eric, but the wall behind his head. 'Is there something you wanted Eric? Not to be rude or anything but we don't really talk anymore and I don't know what I can do to help you with you and Natalia's proble-'. He looked at her straight in the eyes and she had to fight not to look back. 'You', he said, not blinking, 'I want you'. Calleigh took a step back and shook her head. 'Eric, I don't think that's a good idea, I mean, we've talked about this, me and Nat are friends'.**

'**Like I said, me and Natalia are over', he said again. Calleigh nodded her head and looked at him. 'Why?'. 'Various reasons', he said, a smiling starting on his mouth. 'Calleigh, I love you, I always have, and you've always been the one for me'.**

**Calleigh began to move towards the door to open it and make him leave but he stepped forward and grabbed her waist gently. **

'**I mean it Calleigh.' he moved one finger up and stroked her cheek gently, rubbing her cheek again with his thumb. Calleigh tried to look away but she couldn't, he was too strong and he wanted this, he wanted her. She looked up at him and his strong brown eyes looked back, melting into her green ones. He edged forward, so slowly that Calleigh wasn't aware that he had moved until she realised that he was centimetres away from her face. He pressed his lips against hers; waiting for her protest but there was none. He felt her arms wrap around his neck and her lips kiss him back. He wrapped his arms back around her waist again, squeezing gently. She felt his tongue run along her bottom lip and opened her mouth slightly, letting his tongue in. She pressed her body up against his. She needed this, she knew it was wrong, but she couldn't help it. Rick Stetler had almost had a heart attack when he heard about Eric and Natalia; this might give him one that'd finish him off, not that Calleigh was arguing about that.**

**She felt Eric's fingers brush against the bottom of her stomach and got a strong sense of déjà vu.**

_**08.24am.**_

**Calleigh woke to sunlight streaming across face coming from the balcony. I usually pull those curtains, she thought, forgetting for a moment. A strange smell filled her nostrils. Bacon? Who is in her house cooking breakfast? She then heard a faint voice singing and it all came back. Eric. She smiled and stretched, before getting up and pulling her dressing gown around her. As she stood up, she fell back down quickly, a strong pain in her thighs twinged as she stood up. She breathed in and stood up again and made her way downstairs. She followed the scent of the bacon although as she knew it'd be in the kitchen. She pushed open the door. Eric stood at the cooker with his back to her, his jeans on and nothing else. He hummed a tune to himself as he cooked. **

'**Hi', Calleigh smiled as he flipped the bacon in the pan, he turned to look at her. 'Good morning', he said smiling and turned back to the cooker, flipping two slices of bacon onto the two plates that stood waiting at the side of the cooker. He handed the plate and a knife and fork to Calleigh and took his own. Calleigh sat at the table and looked up at him, 'How'd you know where everything was?', she asked as she cut her bacon. 'It's a skill of mine', he laughed as he wolfed down his bacon. 'Knowing the floor-plan of people's house? Kinda creepy', she said cheerfully, eating the rest of her bacon. She stood up and walked towards Eric, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissed him lightly on the lips. She felt him respond, his lips pressed against hers hard, she reached up to run her fingers through his hair but was interrupting by a loud buzzing sound.**

**They sprang apart; Calleigh looked around, wondering who could be at her door so early in the morning.**

'**Calleigh?', a voice came from outside the door, it was Aiden. Calleigh turned to look at Eric, who was looking back down at her. **

'**Listen, go upstairs, and get dressed alright? I'll let my brother in', she said softly, smiling and she reached up to kiss him quickly. He nodded and turned, walking towards the stairs. She waited until she heard his footsteps above her head until she made her way to the door.**

'**Aiden, I didn't know y'all would be here so early!', she smiled at her brother as she opened the door. He stepped forward to hug her without dropping the suitcases he was holding. 'Awh, Call, you're my sister, I ain't never seen your fancy new house before, I was excited', he laughed. Carolyn nodded at her husband, 'He's right, it's all he was talking about in the car here'.**

**Calleigh let go of Aiden and hugged Carolyn and Jayden in turn, she then turned back to her brother as she stepped back to let the three of them step into her hall, 'I have been living here about three years now, its not exactly new', she said. 'I'll show you where your room is then', she smiled, 'Then you can put down your bags', she laughed and made her way to the stairs, turning right into the first guest room, she walked in and stood to the side, making way for Aiden and Carolyn, and their five suitcases, she laughed as she saw Aiden coming through the doorway, his face barely visible. Carolyn followed, holding her purse like something inside it was about to explode, then came Jayden, carrying his rucksack over his shoulder, his earphones in one ear, Calleigh showed them around the room and showed Aiden how the shower worked and everything, and then turned to Jayden, 'Your room next', she smiled, walking from the room to the one opposite, across the hall. 'This is it, I'm sorry it's not that great', she said looking around the room. 'That's alright Cal, I think I'll like it', Jayden said, letting go of his rucksack, and jumping on the bed. Calleigh laughed and rolled her eyes. 'Well, I'll be downstairs', she said and walked out with a smile. As she went downstairs, she heard a clattering of china in the kitchen. She thought for a moment, wondering who could be rooting around her cupboards. She walked to the kitchen and stood in the doorway. Eric was standing there putting away the breakfast stuff. 'You know, you don't have to do that', Calleigh said and he turned quickly, startled. 'Cal, don't do that', he said, putting down the plates he was holding. He walked towards her and held her tightly around her waist; she smiled up at him and leant into him, wrapping her arms around his neck. She kissed him lightly, feeling him deepen the kiss, she moaned quietly, they kissed for what seemed ages but probably was only a few seconds.**

'**Ahem..', the sound of someone clearing their throat made Calleigh and Eric spring apart. Aiden leant against the doorframe, Carolyn just behind him. Aiden took a step towards Eric, 'I don't believe we've met', he said, holding out his hand. Eric reached out and shook Aiden's hand. 'Eric Delko, I work with Calleigh'. Aiden nodded, obviously still not knowing who Eric Delko was. Carolyn stepped forward towards Eric as well, 'Oh you're Eric Delko…', she nodded at Calleigh, 'Calleigh's told me lots of stuff about yo-', Carolyn stopped when she saw the look on Calleigh's face. 'Never mind', she said, smiling. Calleigh smiled. 'Well', she said, 'I better get dressed'. She left with a smile and made her way to her room. She closed the door and walked to her wardrobe and opened it, picking out a bright-coloured blouse and black trousers. She slipped off her dressing gown and pulled on her trousers and was buttoning up the last of her buttons on her blouse when she jerked up her head and the room began to spin. 'Ooh', she said sharply, sitting down on the end of her bed. She sat for a moment, shaking her head, She must've jerked her head up too quickly.**

**She got up after a few minutes and went to wash her face and brush her teeth. She was about to go back downstairs when she heard a crash of glass coming from the room Aiden and Caroyln were staying in, but they were downstairs and Jayden was in his room, Calleigh made her way out on to the landing and was knocked over by a man dressed all in black and a mask rushing past her. She fell back onto the carpet and she heard him laugh a cold, cruel laugh, he pushed past her and downstairs. She tried to sit up and scream, to alert her brother or Eric, but it was no use, quickly, bit by bit, her vision was going black.**


	10. Bad Choices

Slowly, Calleigh opened her eyes, allowing them to filter the bright light that filled the room. All she could see was the window that was immediately before her, and the trees beyond. She became aware of a faint beeping noise and turned her head slowly towards the source of the noise.

It was a machine, its screen illuminated with different buttons and switched, some lit and some weren't.

The rest of the room began to then come into focus.

The beside locker, with a vase of bright yellow tulips. Her favourite. And there were cards, lots of cards, she reached out and picked one up daintily,

'Calleigh,

We hope you wake up soon, we all miss you.

The Team'

Calleigh smiled at the card. The weird thing was, the card was dated. August 24th, August, she thought, the last month she could remember was June, at least the last week of it. Her thoughts were interrupted by the door of her room opening and a young dark haired woman entered the room, smiling, when she saw Calleigh lying there with her eyes open, Calleigh heard her sharp intake of breath.

'Miss Duquesne', she said, 'You're awake, I'll get the doctor' and before Calleigh could speak, the nurse was gone.

Moments later, a tall man came into the room and said his name was Dr Chillton and that he was glad she was awake.

'Miss Duquesne, you've got to understand, everything may seem a slight bit hazy now, you've been unconscious for almost two months now and', he stopped as Calleigh raised her hand.

'Excuse me, I don't mean to interrupt but, what happened? I mean I remember glass, glass breaking and then just everything goes black'

The doctor looked at her, 'The nurse will explain to you in full but, on July 1st this year, a man broke into your home, he knocked into you and you hit your head hard and slipped in a coma…And I must say Miss Duquesne, you've got quite a fan base', he smiled, 'There has been at least four people every day since July 1st'

Calleigh smiled and looked at the doctor, 'Thanks, am I alright now?',

Dr Chillton nodded and smiled again, 'Yes, you're both fine, healthy and theres been no lasting damage to your head…',

Calleigh interrupted again, 'Sorry, but did you just say both?', The doctor looked at her faintly and nodded, 'Forgive me Ms Duquesne, you wouldn't have known, but you're pregnant, almost two months' he smiled, 'Congratulations'

And with that he stood up and left the room, leaving Calleigh by herself in the room.

Pregnant, he said. Pregnant. She, Calleigh Duquesne, wasn't pregnant, she couldn't be. It didn't happen to people like her. The doctor must've made a mistake. She thought back, and she didn't sleep with anyone two months ago…then it came to her. Eric. The night before her attack. Silently, she cursed herself for being so damn reckless in the moment.

She closed her eyes and began to fall quickly to sleep. She dreamt of small tiny babies with green eyes, crying in Spanish. And she knew that when babies cry, it was just wailing and not in a language, but in her dream, she was convinced that the small child was crying in Spanish and she couldn't stop it crying.

She woke up with a jolt and couldn't remember for a moment where she was.

Her door opened again and she saw through the glass of the door who it was.

'Eric', she breathed quietly. His face was pale, and it looked different, he looked older, somehow. 'Calleigh, they told me you were awake, are you okay?' Calleigh nodded and bit her bottom lip hard. He moved towards her slowly and sat at the edge of her bed.

'Did they tell you that I was…am…', she stopped, not letting herself say it. 'Pregnant? Yeah, they did', he said quietly.

He looked Calleigh in the face and his eyes sought hers. 'Calleigh, we can make this work, I promise, I'll try, I will, I love you and I want to look after you and our baby'. Calleigh struggled to sit up but eventually managed, 'Eric, I understand, but my feelings for you are…are…I don't know, but they're not the same as the feelings you have for me. I'm sorry but I don't really want you in my life right now'. Eric stood up and looked down at her, 'What do you mean Cal?',

'I want you to leave Eric, I don't want to see you here again, don't want to see you anywhere, except work, leave Eric please', she was almost pleading with him. He nodded and turned towards the door and gave her one backwards look as he passed through the doorway and walked down the hallway. The sound of the door closing suddenly made it real for Calleigh. What had she just done? She lay back down and turned on her side, towards the wall opposite to the door, so anyone passing the door who happened to look through the glass wouldn't see that Calleigh Duquesne was crying.

---

Six weeks later, Eric was just signing in for work when he heard the click of high heels on the marbled floor, it couldn't be Natalia, he knew, as she had taken her maternity leave, she only had two months left. He finished his signature and turned. The most beautiful woman he had ever seen was standing behind him, he could feel his jaw drop. 'Eric, could you pick your jaw off the ground please and move aside? I need to sign in', Calleigh asked sweetly. He nodded and stepped aside, as she had asked.

As she bent over to sign in, he took her in. There was no doubt that being pregnant definitely suited her. There was a glow about her, like the ones you read about but this was more subtle, the way she carried herself even, was like she had a secret that you weren't allowed know. Her hair was like finely brushed gold and it had grown since he had last seen her and was now almost halfway down her back. It wasn't curly, but wasn't fully straight or wavy, it was just bouncy, if you could imagine. The clothes she was wearing were different, he'd give her that. Her shirt was looser and there was a tiny bump but nothing that stood out from a distance. She wore black trousers, as she always did and as always, six inch heels. He remembered that she'd once told him that she'd wear her heels until she died, and even then she was to be buried in them.'

She finished and turned to look at him and began to walk straight for him, he opened his mouth to speak but stopped when she carried on walking right past him and into Horatio's office. She shut the door behind her.

The rest of the day passed and Eric was informed that Calleigh was confined to labwork and wasn't allowed near her firing range for the next six months. Man, he thought, that'd kill her. As he was coming back from his lunch break, from which he had gone to a nice café in Miami, and he'd met his sister and nieces, he passed the break room. Calleigh was sitting on the couch, her phone to her ear and she was smiling, laughing almost, he slowed down to see whether he could catch any of the conversation.

'I know, I told Horatio but you know what he's like, I know, Six months! That's crazy, I mean this is going to be the longest six months of my life…oh', she laughed again, 'Okay, okay, okay, Bye-bye, I'll see you later, after my shift', she pressed the hang up key and looked up. Eric, who had come to a complete stop felt her gaze on him and bent down as if he was looking for a quarter he had dropped. When her gaze had subsided, he stretched and walked on.

Hours passed and at eight o' clock that evening, Eric's shift ended. He signed out and saw that Calleigh's signature was the one above his and that she had signed out less than five minutes before.

He made his way outside to the front of the building where he saw Calleigh standing outside, 'Cal', he said, taking his car keys from his pocket, 'do you need a ride home?'. Calleigh looked surprised at this question and she shook her head, 'No, thanks, I'm waiting for someone'. As she said this, a blue car roared into the car park, Calleigh smiled at the driver and without another look at Eric she made her way over to the car and got in. Eric looked over his shoulder at the car as he unlocked his own car. Jake. It was Jake driving the car, he felt rage fill him but he restrained himself. Beating up Jake in the CSI Carpark wouldn't do anything to prove to Calleigh how he could look after her. He knew it wasn't his place to hate Jake, but he did. All those times he hurt Calleigh, his snide comments about her clothes, the times she had rang Eric crying that Jake hadn't come home from work, or he was drunk or high again. What had she got herself into??

_Sorry for the shortness. Its 6 pages on my word processor, I don't know how the professional fan fiction writers do it. Review please, I haven't had one in such a long time. _


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